The Ultimate List of Dorm Room Essentials

Dorm life is a super important part of college. Going into college, a lot of people find themselves clueless on what they actually need to bring to live in a dorm. Although the thought of living in a dorm is exciting, you don’t want to get there and realize that you don’t have everything you need! So, to help you all avoid that problem, here is a list of all of the dorm essentials so that you can make the most of your dorm experience!

It is no secret that most college students are broke (myself included!), so when making this list I tried my best to find affordable, good quality things that you can get to put in your dorm room. Without further ado, here is the ultimate list of dorm room essentials.

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Your bed is one of the most important, if not the most, important part of your dorm room decor! Getting the right comforter can make or break your room! Also don’t forget that it is going to be where you are sleeping every night, so make sure that you spend your money on a comfy and cute one!

A rug can make a room feel so cozy and make you feel at home! Rugs are one of my favorite things for decor, I especially like plush ones like this one because they are so soft. Plus, they are the perfect place to lay on the floor and do homework!

You definitely need a microwave to be able to cook your food in! Make sure that you check your schools policy on microwaves though, because some schools don’t allow them in the dorm rooms. However, if you can, you should definitely get one because it will make your life so much easier!

A mini fridge is essential for dorm living! You really need somewhere to put your food to keep it fresh. Also make sure to check your school’s policy on this one! You definitely need one in your dorm, but if you aren’t allowed a refrigerator in your dorm room, then they will have one available for you to use somewhere.

You have to have somewhere to put your laundry, so your own laundry basket is essential! While the idea of using a trash bag as a laundry basket may be tempting, you need something durable with handles so that you can easily carry it to and from the laundry room. There is nothing worse than putting your clothes in a garbage bag and having the bag rip and your clothes spill everywhere. This one would go perfect with a girly dorm room theme!

You need curtains for your room, and you should get some blackout curtains so that they don’t let any light into the room when you are trying to rest, especially after pulling an all nighter (hopefully you don’t actually pull all nighters because that is unhealthy, but you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.)

It is no secret that college kids live off of coffee. You would be hard pressed to find someone who survived college without a coffee, and spending money on a coffee maker of your own will definitely save you money in the long run because you won’t have to pay $5 for every cup of coffee that you want.

I’ve said on here before that my diffuser was one of the best purchases I’ve made. It has so many uses, you can use it to freshen up a room, or you can use specific essential oils in it to help you focus, relieve stress, etc. If you want to hear more about how you can use a diffuser, I talk about it in my post How to Relieve Anxiety in College.

If you’re up late at night studying/ reading, you don’t want to be the roommate that keeps your roommate up because you won’t turn the lights out. A reading light clips onto your book and is perfect for late night studying!

A power strip is essential for any room really, but especially important for a dorm room. You’re going to need a place to plug in all of your things such as your laptop cord, your tv, your phone charger, etc.

You don’t have much control of the temperature in a dorm room, so you should bring a fan just in case you get hot or need some air circulation. I personally can’t go to sleep without a fan on, it makes white noise which is super convenient when other people in your dorm are being noisy and you’re trying to concentrate/ sleep.

You should use a white board or a post it board to let your roommates know where you’re going if you’re leaving for a while. Just in case something happens while you’re out, it’s good for someone to know where you’re at and when you should be back. Better safe than sorry!

Now a days you can do many assignments online, but many professors still require your work to be printed out. Having a printer in your dorm room will make your life much easier, and will save you from having to go to the communal printer. Being able to print things off from your dorm room whenever you need to is a life saver!

I’m visiting my mom for the summer and she doesn’t have filtered water and the water has so much chlorine in it that it’s not even funny. I drink water consistently throughout the day, (and so should you! Read why in my post A College Girl’s Guide to looking Gorgeous without makeup.) so I finally broke down and bought one of these. It’s like magic! In college it is going to be so helpful because you can get water straight from the water fountain and the bottle filters it while you drink! Definitely a worth while purchase, and it was pretty affordable!

I have a pair of beats that I absolutely love. I can’t hear any outside noise when I have them on, and I can still keep them at a low volume. However, I got these as a graduation gift and there is no way that I could have afforded them otherwise (and I don’t expect you to be able to either), so here is a pair of affordable noise cancelling head phones. These are definitely important, and you will no doubt need them when you’re living in a dorm with other people who can be super noisy when you’re trying to study.

Do not forget towels when you go to college! You don’t want to be asking your roommates to borrow their towels. Buy your towels ahead of time on amazon because they’re cheaper than they would be at Target or Walmart!

I actually got one of these at my senior after prom that the parents threw. I’m really excited to use it! Not entirely sure if I’ll be able to bring it with me or not, but if I can, I’ll probably be eating waffles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

If you liked this post, be sure to share it using the pink buttons on your screen! Don’t forget to subscribe for exclusive content and blog updates! If you decide to buy any of these products or have any dorm room essentials that I left off, I would love to hear about it in the comments below!